Why we ask, and what it costs us

A deposit is not a fee and it is not a penalty. It is part of your bill, taken early, because a chair that sits empty cannot be sold twice.

What it costs us when you do not come

The menu price of a cut is $65. Of that, about $12 is colour, foils, product and laundry that we do not spend if you are not there. The rest, $53, is gone: the rent, the light and the stylist are all paid whether the chair is full or not. That $53 is the number, not the $65.

What we charge

$20 on most services, more on the long colour work where the chair is blocked for three hours. It comes off the bill on the day. Move the appointment with a day’s notice and the deposit moves with it.

The part that argues against us

Asking for a deposit puts some people off booking at all. On our own numbers that costs more than the deposit recovers: the calculator on the home page puts break-even at $33.13, and we charge $20. We are about $688 a month down on the policy. We think that is the right trade, and we would rather say so than pretend the sum works out.

If something happens

Tell us. Illness, a child, a car that will not start. We have never kept a deposit over something genuine and we are not about to start.